By Rich Winter

| Special to The Tribune

Herriman • The Herriman wrestling team will toil in anonymity no more.

A year after the Mustangs qualified just one wrestler — Zac Hewitt — and scored just 2 points at the state meet, sophomore Chandler Strand announced the arrival of a new power in Class 4A wrestling with booming authority.

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At a glance

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Finishing strong

Big player » American Fork’s 6-foot-4 senior Zac Hunter had 8 points the first game against Lone Peak. His next three he had 3, 7 and 7. Hunter has finished nicely with 18 at Riverton, 19 against Lone Peak and 12 against Bingham. How do you stop a team that has four guys in double figures?

Big Number » 4. The Herriman boys team has played in four overtime games this season, with two extra periods in a 50-49 loss at Westlake. Herriman was 11-8 entering the week; the team lost close games early but got better as the season progressed.

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A Region 7 champion, Strand won the 106-pound weight class by pinning all four of his opponents at the state tournament, including Colton Thiel of Clearfield in the championship match.

"It just feels great to be the first champion in our school’s history," said Strand. "I really didn’t think about pinning everyone. I just feel like I get stronger as the match goes on and I kept pushing through."

Make no mistake, this title was no fluke. Strand led 7-2 after one period of the title tilt, and 14-2 after two. The final, almost effortless finish to his match came courtesy of a headlock.

Strand missed about a month of the season while recovering from an ACL surgery. He incurred some early losses, but said the support he felt from the other kids in the program just helped him push though.

What other kids? A year ago, Mustang junior Hewitt was the only state qualifier from Herriman. He won one match, lost his next two, and that was Herriman’s tournament.

"[We] went down there, no fans, no cheerleaders and no bus," said coach Danny DuPaix. "He was a great leader last year that showed up and got everyone to work."

Herriman had some good results early. The Mustangs beat Hillcrest 70-12 on Dec. 9, and finished fourth in the Stansbury tournament on Dec. 18. The good results got better when it mattered as the Huskies finished second at the Region 7 tournament, but qualified 15 wrestlers for state.

"We’re building a program and it takes time, but getting 15 to state is a great start," said DuPaix. "Other than Chandler nobody placed, but they got the experience and they’ll understand the stage next year."

DuPaix is quick to share the spotlight regarding the remarkable turnaround.

"Larry Jaramillo, former West Jordan coach, has grandkids out here and I’ve got a great bunch of assistants."

The Mustangs likely won’t catch teams by surprise next season as they return 10 state qualifiers and have a host of eighth-graders ready to step in.